Co-Existence

Generation Global is a pioneering global education programme for 12- to 17-year-olds, providing them with the skills and experience they need to navigate difference in a peaceful way. By providing global learning and dialogue opportunities, the programme helps young people to be resolute in the face of narratives that may feed the development of extremist ideologies.

Devised by an international group of educational experts, advisers and religious leaders, the programme provides opportunities for students to put critical thinking skills into practice through facilitated dialogue. Students learn about one another and explore the roots of openness and diversity in their own cultural and religious traditions.

Generation Global reflects the needs of different school systems around the world, including in some of the world's most challenging regions. We work through existing systems to develop the skills of teachers and instil critical thinking and dialogue skills in students, so that they are more open-minded and able to recognise and resist extremist narratives. We develop teacher training, flexible classroom resources and online opportunities for dialogue for students, to enable them to connect with their global peers and break down religious and cultural prejudices, reducing the risk of conflict and the development of extremist narratives.

Generation Global has three core activities:

• Students work through the Essentials of Dialogue resources and then put the knowledge, skills and competencies they have developed into practice through dialogue with their peers across the world, using either online tools or facilitated videoconferences.

• Our facilitated videoconferences enable students across the world to speak to each other, including in conflict zones. Trained facilitators manage the interaction, providing support and appropriate challenge, and encouraging the use and development of the four key skills of dialogue: insight, explaining, questioning and reflecting. We provide technical support and connect schools through an online booking service.

• Our moderated online community allows students to engage in digital dialogue. This unique platform enables young people to connect safely with peers around the world, while providing teachers with tools to effectively support students’ development. We encourage students to comment on each other's work, referring to the four key skills of dialogue.

Find out more by visiting www.generation.global

Generation Global aims to be a catalyst for behavioural and attitudinal change. We use empirical quantitative and qualitative research to measure impact. The programme’s effectiveness has been independently assessed by an academic evaluation that found unequivocal evidence of the programme producing a significant shift towards increased open-mindedness.

This approach has been recognised for its effectiveness, cited on the UK Department for Education’s Educate Against Hate website, and as good practice by UNESCO and the Brookings Institution in their guides for policymakers and practitioners.

We have provided advice and guidance on educating against extremism to a number of national and state governments. We work in Jammu and Kashmir with the Ministry of Education to pilot the implementation of Generation Global in government schools, and we have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research to implement the Generation Global dialogue model in their public schools. We work with the New York City School Board, with support of the Mayor, to develop a dialogue programme for schools across the City.

"It equips students around the world for positive engagement in all areas of their lives: present and future family relationships, in the workplace, and equips our young people for taking leadership roles in the future, and making the world a safer place to be. Invaluable." Teacher, United Kingdom

“The video conference helped our female students to get out of their confined box in their class and society, to learn what dialogue is. They learnt how to convey their messages and what they want to convey to the world." Teacher, Palestine

The lessons focus on an experiential, student-centred approach that stresses the importance of activities that introduce them to the core concepts of respectful dialogue. We also offer a number of training opportunities and webinars. You can download a sample of these resources below.

Generation Global has also developed materials to support teachers in facilitating difficult dialogue around challenging issues in their classrooms. Teachers tell us that they often feel under-equipped to deal with difficult questions and ‘hot-button’ issues, so we’ve used our dialogue experience to put together a resource on ‘Difficult Dialogue in the Classroom’